Saida Burns-Moore

27 Apr Saida Burns-Moore

When I was nine years old, I went on a school trip to a place called Camp Herrlich and here I had my first encounter with geology. On the second day of the trip, we met a camp guide who happened to be an earth science teacher; and he introduced us to a pumice rock. He demonstrated the unique nature of the rock, by placing it in a pond and to my surprise, the rock floated. My nine-year-old mind was baffled, the idea of a floating rock! I was determined to find out why the rock stayed afloat. On that day I knew I wanted to be a geologist, this opportunity afforded me the feeling of curiosity, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have been able to visit Camp Herrlich. 

In the future, I plan to use my education and experience to provide classes and programs that will pique the interests of minority youth in urban environments, where they may not have access to these resources. Additionally, I hope to build confidence in children and also spark their interests in science-related fields. Originally, I am from the Bronx in New York City and was lucky to have a field trip in the great outdoors. Several public schools in underrepresented communities do not have the funding to expose children to field trips like this one. I want to change that. I want to aid the Geological Society of America in further diversifying its organization by clearing a path for minorities to feel empowered by science, specifically geology.